Today from the seattlepi.com archive we share a brief story about the day it was announced our since-departed NBA team, the Seattle Supersonics, would be coming to town.

Tuesday marks the 46th anniversary of a front page P-I story reporting that Seattle would get a professional team. It was the city’s first pro team since the Seattle Metropolitans folded in 1924. (The Metropolitans won the Stanley Cup in 1917.)

But it was the P-I’s John Owen who broke the story about the Sonics’ coming to Seattle on Dec. 16, 1967. Owen reported the formal announcement about Seattle’s NBA franchise would likely be made within a week.

The Supersonics name was picked later in a name-the-team contest.

Click here to read coverage of the NBA franchise announcement as a PDF. Follow this link to see a gallery of historic Sonics photos from the P-I archive.

The manager of the Coliseum – the building constructed for the 1962 World’s Fair and renovated to what’s now KeyArena – confirmed prospective NBA owners had approached him, but didn’t give more details. The coliseum at the time held about 13,000 people.

After it was announced on Dec. 20 that Seattle would receive an NBA team, there was speculation of who would be the coach. Al Brightman, who had coached Seattle University from 1948 to 1956, was a name tossed around. People also wondered if Tom Workman, a Blanchet High School star and Seattle University standout, would play in his hometown.

But Brightman coached the Anaheim Amigos of the ABA during the 1967-68 season and Workman was drafted by the St. Louis Hawks as the eighth pick of the 1967 NBA draft. He never played for a professional Seattle team.

Another Al took the Sonics’ head coaching job, Al Bianchi. He remained the Sonics coach until 1969 when NBA legend Lenny Wilkens took over. On the first Sonics squad was Bob Weiss, who was named head coach of the team in 2005. Read more about that first team here.

The Sonics remained here until July 2008, when a settlement between the city and a group including Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett allowed the team to move.

On the 25th anniversary of the Sonics’ 1979 NBA championship, broadcaster Bob Blackburn, forward John “J.J.” Johnson and retired Seattle Times reporter Greg Heberlein were members of a panel discussion about the Sonics at the Museum of History and Industry.

The discussion was produced, moderated and recorded by Feliks Banel, who provided this recording.

Front page and sports section cover from the day after the Sonics’ victory can be downloaded here. (PDF)